La Liga leaders Real Madrid will hit the road to square up against Levante at Ciutat de Valencia in Matchday 6 of La Liga.

Having won just one out of five of their matches, Levante will be hoping to script an upset against Real Madrid at home. Meanwhile, Xabi Alonso’s team will be looking to make six wins in a row when they square up against the 16th-placed team.

The newly promoted team had a very disappointing start to the season as they lost each of their first three games. However, they have bounced back post the international break. The Valencian outfit played out a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Real Betis and backed it up with an impressive 4-0 win over Girona last time out.

While Levante will be confident about putting up a strong fight against Real Madrid, going up against Xabi Alonso’s team won’t be easy. The visitors have had a sensational start to the new season. Loc Blancos have won all six of their games across competitions. They are sitting on top of the table, having won all five of their league games.

Los Blancos are heading into this fixture on the back of a clinical 2-0 win over Espanyol. While they are yet to hit top gear, the team in white are doing just enough to claim all three points every time they take the field. Alonso will hope it’s another routine game for his team. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could deploy.

Team News & Tactics

Levante

The home team have no fresh injuries, which means Calero will have a fully-fit squad to choose from. Against Real Madrid, Levante will line up in a 4-3-3 formation, where Mathew Ryan will feature in goal.

Jeremy Toljan and Manu Sanchez will feature as the full-backs, while Unai Elgezabal will partner with Matias Moreno in the heart of the defence.

In the centre of the park, Jon Ander Olasagasti will partner with Unai Vencedor and Oriol Rey. The trio will look to shield the backline and ensure the Real Madrid midfielders do not dominate the ball too deep in their half.

Carlos Alvarez and Etta Eyong will feature out wide on the flanks, while Ivan Romero will lead the line for Levante against Real Madrid on Tuesday night.

Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Ryan; Toljan, Elgezabal, Moreno, Sanchez; Vencedor, Olasagasti, Rey; Alvarez, Romero, Etta Eyong

Real Madrid

Xabi Alonso will be without the services of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ferland Mendy, and Antonio Rudiger. But, the visitors do have a boost as Dean Huijsen is back available after serving his suspension last time out.

Against Levante, REal Madrid will line up in a 4-3-3 formation, where Thibaut Courtois will be in goal. Dani Carvajal and Alvaro Carreras will be the full-backs, with Huijsen returning to the starting XI to partner with Eder Militao.

In the centre of the park, Aurelien Tchouameni will take up the holding role, while Arda Guler and Federico Valverde will be in his support. The trio will look to ensure Los Blancos dominate the proceedings.

Brahim Diaz and Vinicius Junior should feature on the flanks, providing much-needed width to their attacks, while Kylian Mbappe will continue to lead the line for Real Madrid against Levante this midweek.

Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Courtois; Carvajal, Huijsen, Militao, Carreras; Valverde, Tchouameni, Guler; Diaz, Mbappe, Vinicius

Key Stats

• Los Blancos have made a perfect start to the season, having won all five of their league games.
• Levante are playing in the top flight for the first time since 2021.22.
• The last time Levante hosted Real Madrid in a league game was back in August 2021, when they managed to secure a dramatic 3-3 draw.
• The home team have scored at least two goals in three out of their last four outings.
• Xabi Alonso’s team are yet to concede more than a goal in any of their fixtures this season.

Player to Watch

Vinicius Junior

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The Brazilian international is yet to return to his best. While Vinicius Junior did show glimpses during the initial fixtures, he is yet to properly announce himself under Xabi Alonso. The 25-year-old has four goal contributions in his five league outings.

While those are decent numbers, his impact on the pitch has not been that great. Vinicius will be hoping to put up a show when he takes the field against Levante. The limelight will be on Kylian Mbappe, but Vinicius can certainly have a big say on the end result of this fixture.

Prediction

Levante 0-3 Real Madrid

Real Madrid will be confident of extending their perfect start to the season when they square up against Levante. The newly promoted side might have found some momentum after a poor start, but the gulf in quality between the two squads is likely to show on the night.

Levante will take confidence from their recent results and will hope the home crowd can push them to compete with the league leaders. However, stopping Real Madrid’s attackers will be a huge challenge. With their defensive structure still a work in progress, the hosts might find it difficult to cope once Madrid up the tempo. The Hard Tackle predicts a 3-0 win for the team in white.